[Causes of chronic cough in children in Chongqing, China: an analysis of 202 cases].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the constitution of causes of chronic cough in children.

METHODS

The clinical data of 202 children with chronic cough who were hospitalized in the Affiliated Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from May 2015 to November 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS

As for the causes of chronic cough in the 202 children, 81 (40.1%) had post-infection cough (PIC), 71 (35.1%) had cough variant asthma (CVA), 43 (21.3%) had upper airway cough syndrome (UACS), 3 (1.5%) had foreign body aspiration, 1 (0.5%) had gastroesophageal reflux cough, 2 (1.0%) had Tourette syndrome, and 1 (0.5%) had congenital respiratory disorders. Of the 202 children, 119 (58.9%) had chronic cough caused by a single factor and 83 (41.1%) had chronic cough caused by multiple factors. There was a significant difference in the constitution of causes of chronic cough among the children with different ages (<1 year, ≥1 year, ≥3 years and 6-14 years) or natures of cough (wet cough and dry cough) (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The top three causes of chronic cough in children are PIC, CVA and UACS. There are significant differences in the main causes of chronic cough between children with different ages and between those with different natures of cough.